Mr. And Mrs. Mahi Shows How Women Lose Autonomy In Bid To Please All

Mr. and Mrs. Mahi is a story about Mahendra Aggarwal, aka Mahi, and Mahima Sharma, also called Mahi. Both based in Jaipur, Rajasthan, Mahendra always wanted to do something different from what his father wanted, while Mahima never wanted anything different. Directed by Sharan Sharma and produced by Karan Johar, the film sees Rajkummar Rao play Mahendra, and Janhvi Kapoor as Mahima.  

Mahendra and Mahima are characters you can find in many households—people who can’t act on their potential because of responsibilities and the need to keep others happy. One is aware of his potential, while the other is not. When these two meet and support each other, they help fulfil each other’s long-lost dreams.

That’s what happens in Mr. and Mrs. Mahi. As an audience, I could relate to both Mahendra and Mahima, but as a woman, I especially found Mahima’s character relatable for many women, who are still struggling due to low agency or a lack of self-agency. Here are 5 reasons why you should watch this film:

 1. Micromanaged by Parent

'You want to become a doctor, right? Playing cricket won't make you a doctor,' says Mahima’s dad as he pulls her away from hitting sixes with her friends and makes her sit down to study. This is the reality for many around us. We're often told, 'You can't do this because then you won't be able to do that.' But why? Maybe you know more, but let me try. Who knows, maybe I can do both?

When parents are too strict and controlling, always demanding and micromanaging their children's lives, it stops kids from learning how to make decisions and be independent.

2. Struggles to even Express Herself

'Tell us something about yourself,' says Mahendra’s dad as the two families gather for a traditional arranged marriage meeting. Mahima begins, 'I completed my matric, then took up science,' but her dad interrupts and answers the rest for her. Days later on a date night with Mahendra, she barely spoke and on their wedding night, she started to say something like, 'When I was a child...' but stopped mid-sentence. Why can’t a young woman who is well-educated and earning for herself speak for herself?

Even in her married life, she was struggling with her career but never took the lead. Instead, she always encouraged her husband to take chances and try new opportunities, whether returning to cricket or becoming a coach. For the first half of the film, Mahima barely spoke about herself. She listened to what her dad said, what her husband said, what they wanted, and how she could help them. But why?

Why couldn't she express herself? Before marriage, did her strict and controlling father stifle her voice? Absolutely. He made it hard for her to speak her mind and make her own choices. Does marriage change this dynamic for her? Not necessarily. 

After marriage, many women are taught to always put others' needs first. Sadly, this often makes them believe their desires and opinions don’t matter as much.  Mahima’s situation was a combination of upbringing and societal expectations that silence their voices and prioritise others over themselves.

3. Trusts Her Husband but Not Herself 

'If you don’t trust yourself, try trusting me once. You’re meant for cricket,' her husband said. This pep talk was a turning point for her. She believed in him so much that she quit her doctor’s job, which she had taken up to please her father.

When she was nervous about telling her dad the truth, her husband gave her another pep talk.  And for the first time, she explained to her dad why she left the doctor’s job. On which her dad said, 'Look how she’s found her voice!' and she replied, 'When you start believing in yourself, you find your voice too.'

Mahima needed confidence, trust, and comfort—things she couldn’t find within herself. But how did Mahima find that all of a sudden? She was fortunate to have a husband who believed in her and gave her the encouragement she needed. He helped her see that she could pursue her true passions and that she was meant for something different.

Why was she so dependent on her husband? Maybe if a woman doesn’t have strong role models of independent, assertive women, she might not know how to stand up for herself in a relationship. She didn’t see examples of women asserting their agency in her family, which made her rely on her husband for the confidence to pursue her dreams.

4. Loss of Confidence after betrayal from Him

'You are so selfish! Because of you, I’m in this mess. I can’t play, I got injured, and I’m not made for cricket,' she said when she found out that her husband encouraged her to play cricket for his own selfish reasons, to prove himself to others. She broke down completely and couldn’t play anymore. It was hard for her to accept the fact that her husband had betrayed her trust. However, what she could easily believe was that she was not meant for cricket. 

Why did Mahima's confidence vanish suddenly? Was it always based on her husband’s belief in her? Now that she faced reality, she struggled to find that confidence on her own. Why do some women, like Mahima, rely so much on their partners? Is this reliance bad? Is it the worst? Or is it just healthy codependency?

For Mahima, she was a kind of a woman who never had agency. She always needed a pep talk before making big decisions—before quitting her job, confronting her dad, or facing a tough cricket match. Low self-esteem and a lack of confidence can make women rely on their partners for decisions and guidance. They might doubt their own abilities and think their husbands are more capable. So was this codependency not healthy at all? 

In my view, in Mahima's case, her dependence on her husband wasn't healthy because it stems from a lack of self-belief and autonomy. For a relationship to be truly balanced, both partners need to feel confident and capable on their own, however, Mahima struggled to believe in herself and always looked to her husband for confidence and direction.

5. Depends on Her Husband's Encouragement

What if Mahendra never had that conversation with his mother and never came back to Mahima? Would Mahima be able to sustain that match? Could she play for India? Or, even worse, could she continue living in a relationship with Mahendra after he broke her trust? She would likely need someone's support to manage all of this, right?

Social norms often pressure women to conform and rely on their husbands. For example, in one scene, Mahima’s father-in-law questions her choices, saying, "She was a good doctor, smart, and now look what she's doing." Her mother-in-law responds, "Whatever she does, whether she jumps into a well or anything else, she's doing it with her husband."

Why did it sound like a woman having her own agency is only acceptable when her husband is with her? It highlights how societal expectations can stifle a woman's independence and make her overly reliant on her partner. Sharan Sharma wanted to portray a woman who learns about agency, regains it, and succeeds in life. Mahima succeeded, but did she become confident enough to listen only to herself now? No. Did she regain full agency over her life and will now choose herself every time without feeling guilty? Absolutely not. The actors were exceptional in their roles, which is why the film truly connected and left us with unanswered questions.

Views expressed by the author are their own